Days after Gov. Jack Markell proposed a new water tax for property owners, some lawmakers offered their first hint of resistance, raising concerns that included creation of a dedicated pot of money that could be raided in the future.

Sen. Colin R.J. Bonini, R-Dover South, said he's concerned that a special water fund, receiving $30 million a year from the new tax on property owners, will be vulnerable to lawmakers and governors looking for money someday to cover other needs.

He noted that such special funds already have been tapped, including those for parks, open space and farmland preservation, during tough financial times.

"I would love to create an absolutely dedicated funding source for parks that is untouchable. We tried that, and we raided it anyway," Bonini said. "Despite the clearly good intent of increasing revenue, once it gets into this building, it's fair game."

He also questioned Markell's proposal to add the new levy to property tax bills, a precedent that Bonini said could open the door to other attempts to increase revenue from property taxes, a funding source normally left to counties, municipalities and schools.

The General Assembly has resisted other such attempts, including past bids by Delaware Technical & Community College.

"I'm very concerned about that precedent. As soon as we do it, they'll start lining up," Bonini said.

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin P. O'Mara said the new tax would provide long-term support for an ambitious plan to clean up the state's rivers and ponds.

It would bolster annual investments in wastewater and drinking water systems, stormwater and flood control projects, protective agricultural programs and clean-ups of contaminated sites that taint waterways and fish.

Some private industries also could receive help, including assistance aimed at reducing the cost of otherwise private borrowing for wastewater plants or other water quality improvements.

"We could move a lot of projects if we could have enough dedicated resources that we could use to leverage funds in different ways," O'Mara said.

"If there's a better way to apportion this more fairly, let's figure it out," he said. "Get buy-in on the problems, get buy-in on at least a potential mechanism and then have a conversation about solutions."

The water tax – ranging from $45 for typical households to $25,000 for the largest commercial and industrial sites – would be assessed through property owner tax bills, then directed toward an estimated $800 million in short and long-term needs. Details on the assessments and financing plan, including draft legislation, will be release in coming weeks, O'Mara said.

"You've got the 'what to do' perfectly," said Rep. Michael Ramone, R-Middle Run, "The 'how to do it' is the question."

Sen. Robert L. Venables, D-Laurel, said summary reports of pollution problems across Delaware obscured progress made in past decades. He also said that past administrations and legislatures have made big strides.

"If we have a good economy," Venables added, "we can spend a lot on the environment."

Sen. Brian J. Bushweller, D-Dover Central, predicted that lawmakers would hear more about one project cited as a poster-child for water problems during Markell's announcement. Flooding and runoff from an old landfill along a drainage route dubbed "Tar Ditch" in Dover now routinely threatens buildings and even critical systems at Bayhealth Medical Center, Bushweller said.

"In recent years, when there's been a heavy rainstorm, the flooding is bad enough that it actually threatens the mechanical room of the whole hospital," Bushweller said.

O'Mara said the water fee could speed up action on projects like Tar Ditch, while also allowing cleanups of pollution sources that are part of the same problem.